Do you think it is better to download 44 magnum cases or use 44 special cases for loads at around 900-1000 fps out of a 44 magnum.

Many years ago I would just load up 240r lead semi wad cutters with Unique and shoot them through a Redhawk 7.5" barrel and later a Super Redhawk and a Model 629 with a 5" barrel.

Unique is horrible in a Dillon 550 as far a measuring consistently . So I haven't really loaded any light rounds in a while and don't really shoot the 44's much.

I have a renewed interest in the big bore revolvers and have recently bought one with a 2.75" barrel. It's a magnum but I don't really want to shoot magnum loads.

I was going to buy some 44 S&W Special cases and just load them up but the brass is nowhere to be found. So 44 mag case or 44 special case, does it really matter? I see some loads for Magnum that are 6-8 grains which leaves a ton of room in the case. Talking about Titegroup and 231 etc, even Bullseye. Does this matter?

Anyway I know many here must load 44 and not shoot 23 grains of 296 or 20 grains of 2400 all the time. When I was 21, I could do that all day. At 48 I don't have the desire to get beat up with more than a couple cylinders full of hot magnums. Haha I want to ring that gong with a big bullet, I don't care if it takes a couple seconds for it to get there.

I don't know of a single good thing that comes from shooting 44 Special rounds in a 44 Magnum. As a matter of fact, the "crud ring" that builds up can be a real bear to get out...

I would load 44 Mag brass at medium velocities and let the good times roll. Some of the most fun with a 44 I have ever had was shooting my own full wadcutters at about 850 fps out of my 4" Model 29. It is a hoot, and talk about great big perfectly round holes in paper!

I always use 44 mag brass for my milder loads,but I'm doing it with Unique.

I just found this article on loading the 44 magnum. Lots of good info here:

Reloading the .44 Magnum

Haven't had a chance to read it all yet but one thing jumped out. Author said his new favorite powder for 44 Magnum was Titegroup. Says 5.5 grains Titegroup under 240gr LSWC gives 850fps and plink all day. Doesn't say barrel length but mentions 4" M29 while discussing more light loads a couple paragraphs later.

I'm not going to bother with 44 special cases. Not until I get a 44 special revolver anyway. I have several thousand 44 magnum cases.

I have not tried Trail Boss in the .44 Magnum, but have in the 38-40, 44-40 and 45 Colt.
With a 240 gr LSWC, 7.0 gr of TB is what Hodgdon's has for the .44 Magnum CowBoy load. 900fps.

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

The .38 special loads I shoot in my .357 are in .357 brass.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

+1 on using the Mag brass. If you've got lots, and Specials are unobtainium, I don't see a problem. You may have to upload a trifle to reach the Special velocities, but just think how easy to clean !
Happy shooting !

Larry

Much easier to find .44 mag brass anyway.

Nothing wrong with a light load. AA#2 goes through a measure well if you have that problem.

I have used Trail Boss with a 200 gr cast RNFP. A max charges goes 950 fps from a 5.5 inch barrel in the Magnum cases. Easy recoil and no leading. 1100 fps from a 20 inch barrel.

I've never bothered with .44 Special cases in .44 Magnums...if one reloads why would one bother. The little bit of extra airspace over a .44 Special isn't going to make any difference.

.44 Specials are for shooters who don't reload and can't find target velocity type commercial reloads.

As to Unique not metering in a Dillon... I've been shooting just about nothing but Unique in .41, .44 and .38 Super for the last 25 years and can only say the accuracy has always been astounding...

Bob

5 gr bullseye behind a lee 200 gr in a mag case is my farm load. it runs about 750 book or so but it's never been clocked. very accurate and pleasant out of my 629. it's a 100 yard load at best and it really takes its time getting there but will kill coyotes stone dead and does everything I ask of it

Couple weeks ago I came across a couple hundred 44 special brass at a gun show. Loaded them with 6.0 gr. Red Dot & 240 gr. cast lead swc bullets. Shot them out of a model 29-3 4'' gun & accuracy was the best that I had ever gotten outa that gun.

Think I am gonna load about 6.5 gr. Red Dot in some mag brass & give that a try. Both loads should be about 900 fps & very pleasant to shoot.

I've never seen the point of using special brass, in 38/357 or 44/44mag. Especially if going back & forth between mags & spec. you have to clean the cly often to prevent carbon build up. I just load everything in magnum brass.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

I'm downloading my .44 Magnum using 8 grains of Unique behind a 240 grain lead semi-wadcutter. It's both pleasant and fun to shoot.

Now that I no longer care about shaving fractions of an inch from group sizes, shooting has become so much more enjoyable as I don't have to invest in buying canisters of powder for testing.
"Minute-of-soda-can" is accurate enough for me.

Also, I've not had any problems metering out Unique powder.

For revolvers that are going to be used for self defense or IDPA type competition, the shorter case can make sense because they more reliably eject when reloading. I have had 357 mag cases hang during ejection and had to pull them out individually before being able to reload. Particularly easy to have the longer case hang when using a short barreled revolver with a short ejector rod. I have moved to using 38 special cases because of this and they don't hang up when reloading the revolver. I would think the same is true of 44 Special/44 Mag brass.

Im partial to using magnum brass.
it avoids the dreaded chamber ring and can go nearly as low as 44 special.

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it just needs more voltage

My own tests on 44 special/44 mag have produced a couple observations:

1) while rarely do I have use for '44 MAG' loads, it's nice to have some on hand;

2) while I no longer have a '44 special ONLY' revolver, I have ample brass that yearns to be used;

3) my personal accuracy suffers the farther over 1250 fps my loads go;

4) Using same recipe powder charge, and matched 200 or 240 g SWC at loads up to about 1200 fps, it's hard to see much difference between special & mag brass loads.

The overall accuracy tips toward my 44 special loads though, and the single most accurate load I've ever had in a cowboy SAA was 44 special....got a 5 shots in one jagged pinkie-sized hole multiple times. Stupidly I let a buddy entice me with mere stacks o'green stuff in return for that Colt.

Overlooking my own results of the range of platforms, boolits, brass, powders, recipes, phase of the moon, etc.....I believe anywhere between 850~1200 fps my accuracy is pretty much the same.

The best match results I had this year, was bowling pins, shooting a 44 special 1100 fps 200 gr SWC load out of a 8 3/8" 629-1.

YMMV

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

I'm in the minority here, I use 44 Special brass in my 29 with 240 grain plated bullets over 5 grains of Bullesye or 231. Very light plinker load, fun and doesn't put a hurting on you, even with a short barrel and wood grips. I also use 38 Special in my 357 revolvers with plated bullets, don't have a problem using magnums, but I clean regularly.

Well, if you are going to load 1000 fps, it's a pretty stout load in a .44 Special, and a light one in the .44 mag. Since you have a .44 magnum pistol, most of the advantages of the .44 special are lost, anyway, and you avoid the buildup in the cylinder from shooting the shorter brass. 7.5/8.0 grains of Unique will get you there, and I haven't had any notable problems with it in my Dillon.

Good luck!

I got my first .44 Magnum revolver in '87, a 629 w/6" bbl.. I since have accumulated four more and all shoot lead bullets, and I have used .44 Special ammo in every one of my .44 magnums with no problems (not even the dreaded "crud ring"). I have reloaded everything from 123 gr. round lead balls to 265 gr RNFP T-Rex killers using powders from Bullseye to H110 in both Special and Magnum brass. I clean my guns after each range session, so I have no worry about short cartridges fouling a longer cylinder. I don't use many (prolly none) Special cases anymore because they are getting hard to find and I'm lazy and just use Special loads in Magnum brass when I want to shoot "light"...

Actually Specials in Magnum guns is quite common, just like 38/357. No worries!

Thanks for all the replies

I wasn't worried about the crud ring etc, more about the space in such a large case with powders like Bullseye or Titegroup. I guess it doesn't matter.

I use .38 special cases in my 357 magnums, mostly because I have thousands of .38 cases and maybe about 1000 357 cases. I've been shooting 3.0 gr Bullseye under 158gr LSWC and it's a real powder puff. I also clean after every range session so build up is not a concern.

I'll just stick to the magnum cases and load 'em light. I guess when the boolits get stuck in the barrel they are to light.

+1 to all who use the case that matches the chamber.
(Not even going to get into the Bulldog that came with magnum chambers)

My load is usually 7 grains of Unique (or Universal if you have any).

Don't like Unique?
Almost any powder faster than 2400 can be used with the admonition to start low
(like 5 grains) and work up to the velocity required.
My new midrange powder is Viht. N105 since I was able to grab some.
Should be perfect for Special loads too but I have not finished testing yet.
In this business are we ever finished testing?

As far as sticking a bullet goes; I have gone as low as 4.5 grains of PB but that was with Grex buffer.
I would hesitate to use a jacketed bullet below 750 fps.
Cast can go down around 500 fps safely, but DO make sure you see a hole in the paper every time you pull the trigger.

Edit: all the above loads mentioned refer to 44 Magnum cases.

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Nemo

Shooting all cast in revolvers Nemo I might occasional fire some of my hot jacketed Desert Eagle loads through my Super Redhawk that is scoped.

I counted up my 357 cases tonight and only have about 450 or so. 38 cases, to many to count. Easily over 1000. For some reason people leave 'em laying all over the ground, I pick 'em up. I've never bought a 38 or a 357 case. Saved some from factory ammo I have shot but those are few and far between. I've just been showing 38 cases in magnum chamber. I'm going to change that. Only have one 38 revolver, don't shoot it much as all(taurus 85 that is 20+ years old was my grandfathers), have 2- 357 revolvers that I shoot.(686-6 4" and GP100 3" fixed sight)

I fell for the "romance" of the 44 Special in the 80's when Skeeter was waxing ecstatic about them.
I ended up (so far) with 5 Smiths and the aforementioned Charter in 44 spl.
Although I started out with the magnums in Redhawk and 629's I shoot the specials far more often.
I suspect my compadres at the indoor range prefer them too.
I shoot the magnums in carbines more than revolvers these days.
Guess I have fallen for the velocity seductress.

Lately I have been overcompensating by working with the 445, 444, and designing a wildcat 44 based on the 50 Alaskan.
The goal there will be to drive a 300 to 2500 fps so as to join the real express rounds (and fit in a lever gun).

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Nemo

I like the way "Cheerios" , I mean, Trail Boss, fills up the case
while also giving a nice light target load that is usually very accurate.

Another powder that fills the cases up for a fast power is Red Dot....
that I use a lot in target loads in my 38, .357 and 9mm loads.

However, both these powders are hard to find at this time, for me.

Good loading.

I like the .44 Magnum I have five. 2 Smith & Wessons. A 6" 29-2 and a 3" 629-6. I have put 300 pounds of 240 grain lead semi wad cutters out of mostly the 29-2. I have had it longer. All of these have been with magnum cases and Unique at about 1000 fps. My only experience with magnum and special cases is with the .38/ .357. I clean my gun and have no problem with the special ring in the chamber. I do use magnums for hunting but simply love the accurate and light recoiling lead loads. Shoot more and often. Gotta go to the range now.

old 1911 fan

I use 38 spl brass for light loads in my 357 revolvers because I also
have several 38 spl revolvers and way more 38 brass than 357. I have
several 44 mag revolvers and a fair amount of magnum brass. I don't
own a 44 special or any brass so the choice for light to midrange loads
in the magnums is obvious.

I guess I look at things differently than most reloaders & as usual this thread is no different. I wouldn't say I'm a huge 44 fan but I do own to revolvers chambered in 44spl & 2 firearms chambered in 44mag. Never had a problem putting 44spl's in either of the mags. actually never had a problem putting 38's in a 357.

Any time I've ever loaded anything I've always looked at the components I planned on using. If the goal was a light load then I'd try to match the bullet/bullet weight/powder to that load. The powder being used has made up my mind more than once in choosing which case to use.

If I was using unique I would rather use a heavy load in a 44spl case than a lite load in a 44mag case. Allot of powders just don't perform well with lit loads and unique has proven that time & time again. Universal clays is another power that doesn't do very will at starting load levels. You can put longshot, power pistol, hero & bluedot on that same list.

For true lite loads in a 44mag you'd be better off:
using lighter bullets in the 200gr to 220gr range
using fast burning powders like bullseye or clays in 44mag cases

Some of my favorite plinking bullets for the 44's.



Top left: lyman 200gr sp's
Top center: h& g 200gr hpswc/220gr swc
Top right: raphine 200gr hb rnfp
Bottom left: cramer 200gr wc
Bottom center: mihec 220gr hbwc
Bottom right: jacketed/swaged 220gr hbwc's made from 40s&w brass

Pair any one of those bullets with 6.0gr to 6.5gr of clays in a 44mag case and you'll end up with a lite load that you can shoot all day and easily be able to hit what your aiming at. Typical clay's/44mag targets.



lite loads ='s lite bullets & fast powders
medium loads ='s lite to medium weight bullets & medium burn rate powders
heavy loads ='s medium to heavy bullets & slow powders

Any time I change one of those components I step down to a spl case. Hence, if I have a 240gr bullet (medium weight to me) and unique powder (medium burn rate powder to me) and I want a lite load for the 44mag I'd rather make a medium load for a 44spl. I'd do the same thing even if I was using a 200gr or 220gr bullet, medium powders for medium loads.



Pairing the right components together will produce quality ammo for the task at hand. A couple months back I was playing around with a beater 629 (truck gun) and tried combo's of bullets and powders looking for lite plinking loads. It didn't take long to find loads that would easily do 1 1/2"'s or better @ 25yds

I load .44 mag cases lightly, 8 grains of HP38 (or Win 231) under a 240 grain Berry's plated. Shoots nice, very clean, really accurate. I consider it a very light magnum round. As a bonus, the gun cleans in like 10 inutes, and the cases don't even need tumbling. It's a really clean load.

I don't know what you are doing wrong with your 550 & Unique.. but we use Unique in nearly every pistol cartridge re-loaded on ours & is 100% consistent.......


generally we load medium heavy .44spec loads in .44mag brass..... with an occasional box or 3 loaded loaded for an old Charter .44spec.

Be very very careful loading Bullseye in pistol cartridges on a semi progressive or progressive press because you can double charge if not triple charge maximum powder loads in a single case without over flowing the case.............make sure you eyeball every case's powder level........